A Public Service Announcement On Guns And Bullets

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Friends, in Boston and elsewhere, believe me when I make the following observations about the tools of my profession. I am not making these things up to scare you, and I am not trying to be sensationalist. But, from my perch here in England I was able to listen to the entirety of the exchanges that have been going on in Boston. Not because I'm a soldier, mind you. I tuned in to the local stations just like many of you did, via the web.

What I saw there, while interesting from a mildly voyeuristic point of view, disturbed me in two ways. The first, and obvious one, was that I was upset that this was happening in my country, again. The second was concern, because it was really evident from some of the footage, that my fellow Americans watch way too much television and thus have a false understanding about bullets. So this afternoon's public service announcement is to try and prevent possible harm that might otherwise be avoided.

1. Let us start off with a little of the technical. What you might want to call a "bullet," is usually actually what is more properly known as a "round" of ammunition. It has four major components. When you look at it, you see a brass tubular back half which is crimped around a usually a dull or metallic front part which is conical. That part in the very front is the part that actually goes down the barrel (picking up spin, like a spiral-thrown football, along the way), and that is the bullet. The brass tube (closed at the end), is called the "casing," and it is the second part. Inside the casing, just behind the bullet, is the propellant. The propellent, in modern rounds, is usually measured in the number of "grains" contained in the casing, and that is the third component. Finally, built into the back side of the casing is the primer. Inside the primer is a tiny bit of another kind of explosive that, when struck firmly, explodes and thereby sets off the main propellant. The main propellant drives the bullet down the barrel. OK, got all that? Four parts, only the front little bit is the actual bullet.

2. Power, with guns, is dictated by physics. As my father the physicist taught me at way too early of an age, F = M x A. Force = Mass x Acceleration. The striking, or penetrating, power of the bullet is determined by how heavy (mass) it is, multiplied by how fast it is moving. Thus, a small bullet, moving at extreme speeds, can cause a lot of damage. A large bullet can move at much slower speeds, and cause the same damage. All other things being equal, however, the higher the speed, the greater the penetration. Now, that word "penetration" is one you should think about.

3. In Hollywood, when they "use" guns, they are not really using guns. They are using props. I know you know that. But I should also point out that when they are depicting bullet strikes, they are not actual bullet strikes. There is no penetration on a movie set. Jesus, I don't believe I just wrote that as a straight line, but it's true. I know, intellectually, that almost all of you know that too. But at least, and very demonstrably, some people in Watertown, MA, last night did not appear to consider that fact. They were outside, shooting video. Gang, in Hollywood they use what are called "squibs," tiny little packets of explosive. Basically these are smaller than the "ladyfinger" firecrackers we used to pop off as kids. They are pre-positioned and electrically detonated to show you, the moviegoer, where the bullets are hitting. The folks in Hollywood do that because they work in images. We, unfortunately, live in a real world, with real bullets and immutable physics.

4. In the real world, bullets do not conveniently make little sparks everywhere they hit. So if you hear shooting and think that you're okay, because you don't see any of those sparks, woe be unto you. I think I have only seen that spark thing happen, maybe, twice. Twice, and I could not begin to count how many hundreds of thousands of bullets I have fired these past decades. OK, so we're clear? Do not think that just because you do not see sparks flying, that there are not bullets, even hundreds of bullets, flying around you. (Caveat: If you are caught in a military conflict, you may see red and green lines streaking through the air. Avoid these. These are called "tracers." For every one of those you see, there are usually 3-4 ones in between them that you are not seeing. Again, bad ju-ju. Avoid.

5. In the real world, even when a bullet does hit something, unless it is at nearly a right angle, THAT BULLET CAN STILL KILL YOU. It is called a ricochet. Ever played pool? Same idea. Remember that. Even the bullets not aimed at, or anywhere near you, can ruin your whole day.

6. In the real world, I have converted a sedan into a convertible, quite easily, using bullets. Not even a lot of bullets either. If the other guy is firing anything with greater hitting power than, say, a .32 (Google .32 caliber, .45 caliber, 5.56mm and 7.62mm...I can't do it ALL for you) it will go through things. Metals, woods, sheet-rock? No problem. Your front door will not protect you, at all. Nor will the walls of a normal suburban house, nor the three Sheet-rock walls beyond that. In a car, the only thing that really stops most bullets would be the engine block itself. All the rest of the body of a car, well, basically tin-foil. All those cop movies you remember from the 70s, when they hid behind the opened door of their patrol car and shot at the bad guy? Yea, no. Do not think that works. That is stupid, and nobody but actors in Hollywood actually does that.

If you doubt me, just Google this: Kent State Massacre sculpture bullet holes. See, I grew up near Kent State, and have been there way too many times. But in particular, this sculpture, made of thick plates of iron, with bullet-holes going through not just one, but several plates, might illustrate my point in a more visual manner. Then again, those bullets were 7.62mm.

7. SO, the bottom line is this: If you are in a place where you hear steady, and sustained, and nearby (lets call that, for some technical reasons, anything less than 800 meters) gunfire, do these things:

Go to your basement. You are cool there.

If you don't have a basement, go to the other side of the house from the firing, and leave, heading away from the firing. Do not stop for a mile.

If you do not think that you can leave, get on the ground floor, as far from the firing as possible, and place something solid between you and the firing. Solid is something like a bathtub, a car (engine block), a couple of concrete walls (single layer brick...nope).

If you are high up (say 4rd story or higher) just get away from the side of the building where the firing is taking place. You will, mostly, be protected by the thick concrete of the structure.

8. But for cripes sake, do not step out on to your front porch and start recording a video on your iPhone, unless you actually have a death-wish, or are being paid significant amounts of money, in advance, as a combat journalist/cameraman.